


Firebrand

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Series: The Winged Jedi [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Female Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wingfic, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 21:29:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13598769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: Rex stills looks up at the sky sometimes and wonders what would have happened if Kenobi had of survived. Would she have been able to save Skywalker? Would she have stopped the rise of the Empire?He doesn't know. But he misses her.





	Firebrand

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so bear in mind that I haven't watched the Rebels in its entirety. I'm canon-diverging anyway, but do forgive any gaps in the Rebels timeline that I might have.

During the siege of Reitein, Rex had been on the  _Endurance_ with General Skywalker, coordinating with Commander Tano. It had been the 212th's job to be the primary invasion force. The planet was mostly low-density woodland and prairie being held hostage by the Separatists. Kenobi was the perfect fit for the mission - low-sweeping aerial assaults accompanied by 212th sharp-shooting was an infallible pair.

The intel had been good, but incomplete. 

By the time a crackled radio in from the secondary forces reached them, it was done. She was gone, along with Cody's primary company and the Commander himself. Three hundred men and a High Jedi General, vanished. He'd never seen Skywalker so still. 

"She'd never run." He murmured, voice low and wounded. "She doesn't run."

Skywalker sent him down to the surface to direct the assault - both General and Commander  _gone_ \- but no success had ever tasted like ashes in his mouth. 

The remains of the 212th and the 501st scoured the planet, finding the weapon, the schematics, the architect and the engineering team. But even they didn't know what had become of her, where the portal they created lead. It was a test. They hadn't even known if it would work at all. They didn't know if firing another shell into the same location would even open the same portal. Tano hid behind him when Skywalker turned around to stalk away.

It was the last time he saw Skywalker's eyes blue.

When the Council wouldn't look for her, Skywalker turned to the Senate. When the Senate refused to sacrifice their already limited resources on a wild goosechase, Skywalker went mad. 

Senator Amidala and Commander Tano came for him in the middle of the night along with a couple of other loyal 501st brothers and they fled to Alderaan, for a time. In all his years of fighting alongside the two women, he'd never seen the Senator so angry or the Commander so sad. 

"I will not allow this  _Empire_ to stand." Amidala told him, scowling over her console. "I  _will not_."

Tano gave him a wane smile. "Padmé is sending me off-world to gather information. This might be the last time I see you, so be careful out there."

"You too, kid."

He could have stayed, but he didn't. Fives and Echo stayed as Amidala's personal guard, Jesse and Kix assisting the Rebellion medical teams. He helped to free a couple of the other brothers, but most had already fallen. He took Wolffe and Gregor and vanished into the sands of Seelos.

* * *

It was evenings like this one when he thought about her the most. 

The sun was setting, a dazzling array of yellows, oranges and reds, all blurring and shifting together. The sand deepened to the colour of her robes, a dusky beige. The sky lingered in blue, like her eyes and her lightsaber. Just like her, though, it would all disappear too soon for his liking. He missed Skywalker, he missed Tano and he missed the 501st.

But he missed her the most. 

He didn't realize how much stability and calm she actually brought with her. He never doubted her ability on the field, but he hadn't realized the true scope of her might. Negotiations failed, battles were stalemates or retreats. The 212th fell into ruin, their forces eventually split up between the 327th and the 501st, but it was never the same. The men of the 212th always looked slightly lost, as though Kenobi had been their purpose and without her guiding light they could do nothing but flounder. 

He wondered at exactly what she had been capable of. Would she have been able to hold Skywalker back? Had she been the candle keeping back the darkness? Was her skill in  _talking_ so valuable that the Republic's negotiations with neutral worlds and Separatist ones alike completely failed? Would she alone have been the key to keeping the Republic together and alive?

He thought so. And perhaps that's why she was the one he longed to see. If she was there, all was right in the world. She was the balance, the very scale itself. Light above and Dark below, all he wanted was to see her glitter in the sky one more time and feel that rush of courage and hope brought on the wind of her wings. 

* * *

The day that kid said his birth number, the wind shifted. 

Despite Wolffe's trauma, they'd welcomed the rag-tag crew aboard. Kanan didn't like them much - little to no surprise there, despite the sting - but Ezra liked him alright. The kid was quiet, nervous and eager to learn with a quirky charm. Sabine and Zeb didn't have much to say, just idle commentary and matter-of-fact statements. 

But he gave them what they came for. What Tano needed, Light bless her resilient soul. 

"We can't stay." Kanan was vehement and this time, no amount of puppy-eyes from the youngling was going to change his mind. That was fine. He would face the AT-ATs with his brothers and die on his own terms, as any good clone should. 

But that was when he seen it, blue and bronze and beige - as glorious as the last time on the  _Endurance_. 

A crackle came over the long-unused long-range comms and he damn-near cried.

 _"Heads down, lads. Firebird inbound._ _"_

Ezra looked down at the comm-link on his wrist, but he paid the kid no mind. The AT-TE stopped moving as Wolffe and Gregor ran up on deck, standing with him by the gun in awe as a copper blur sped low across the sands, jumping up sharply to leave a biting slice along the support of one of the legs. The AT-AT began to wobble, but didn't have much time before the raptor was back, swooping around and slicing the joint horizontally and bringing the hulking machine down heavy on its front-right side. 

Gregor began to hoot and holler, but the sound of airships overpowered him. Following in due time came ten Republic drop ships, chasing the action. Across the desert, the second walker came crashing down. The blazing streak flew right through the visor of the walker, the lurching machine grinding to a halt moments before the streak of flame reappeared in the sky. Not long afterwards, the head of the AT-AT blew apart. All of them watched in awe as it swayed, then fell heavily onto its left side and continued smoking. 

"What the hell was that?" Kanan demanded. 

"I dunno, but I want it on our team." Sabine joked. 

Ezra gently touched his arm, his eyes wide and innocent. "Was that Firebird?"

The breath he didn't know he'd been holding broke free and he let himself feel that courage, that strength, that  _hope_ swell inside him again. "That she is."

"Wait, you know what that was?" Kanan jumped in front of him. "What is it?"

He laughed, deep and loud. "She'll introduce you herself when she gets here. But by the looks of it, you're gonna have to get over your hang-ups about clones real fast, or this is going to be a long trip for you."

* * *

No matter what happened next, Rex was alright with it. Firebird was back.


End file.
